Nick Saban was not pleased with his Alabama football team’s performance after the Tide went up 24-3 on TAMU. The Tide won 27-19 to remain undefeated.
All week long, Nick Saban told everyone the game against the Aggies would not be easy. In the post-game press conference, he reminded everyone that 66-3 wins are the not the norm in college football.
Saban said he tried to get his team to listen during the week’s preparation. He also explained it is hard to get through to the players when all they hear in the media is continual accolades amid references to dominance. In a terse summation, Saban called such media praise “rat poison” for players.
Saban was not looking for dominance Saturday night in College Station, Texas. He was expecting his team to finish, to take charge and put the Aggies away at some point. Saban was very disappointed that Alabama football led 24-3 with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter but failed to put the game away.
From that point, momentum shifted to the Aggies who outscored Alabama 16-3 the rest of the game. Saban was not happy in the fourth quarter, even at the end.
Saban not happy with not finishing
After running back an Aggie onside kick, even Minkah Fitzpatrick got a tongue-lashing from Nick. Saban explained the why in the press conference,
"Minkah should have gone down. Only way we can lose the game is he runs with it."
Saban was also quick to say that Minkah would learn from that mistake. Nick is clearly driven to make sure the entire team uses the TAMU game as a valuable lesson. From a broad perspective, any win that keeps a team undefeated is a good win. Nick Saban is not interested in that broad perspective.
To Nick what happened in College Station, was more bad than good. As he said,
"Sometimes bad things happen and people respond better"
Saban will work on that response vigorously. The Alabama football team made enough mistakes against the Aggies to fill all of Monday’s practice. Nick thought the team did some things well but he was quick to point out the deficiencies,
"Fumble lost; penalties that extended TAMU drives; blown coverages; a blocked punt; failure to throw the ball effectively when it was needed."
Should Alabama football fans be worried?
Alabama football probably needed a slap in the face. To their credit, the Aggies provided just that. At mid-season, TAMU is better than Arkansas and Tennesee. Nick Saban has time to make this team better. Even in national championship seasons, a one-game lull is not rare. Remember the 12-10 win over Tennessee in 2009?
The bigger question is to what extent Alabama football is vulnerable against top competition. Saturday night the Tide looked like a team that Auburn and Georgia could beat. But it is a long time to late November and early December.
Alabama football is 6-0 and should be 8-0 and rested when a flawed LSU team comes to Tuscaloosa. Nick Saban may secretly relish the new opportunity to re-focus his team. Alabama football will continue to improve.
Next: Ten Tide Football Records that will Never be Broken
The post-game injury report by Saban was good news for Alabama football fans. Calvin Ridley only has a thigh bruise. Tony Brown has a sprained knee but it is not thought to be serious.